A panel of 90 journalists selected three products from the ‘New Product Showcase’ that were judged to be a cut above the rest.

Spitz bags award

Austrian company Spitz bagged the top innovation award with its Cola Crackle Wafer. The panel was impressed by the unexpected tangy taste of the product which helped Spitz beat 83 other companies and 119 other products to the top prize.

Flavor company McCormick recently forecast that bold tangy tastes were an emerging trend that would be an area of innovation in the next several years.

Stevia almonds

Second place was Hatziyiannakis Dragees: with its Almond dragées with stevia. The Greek firm has coated whole roasted almonds with dark or milk chocolate and has sweetened the product with steviol glycosides.

Hatziyiannakis Dragees' Almond dragées with stevia

Stevia was the highlight of last year’s show and a number of manufactures present at this year’s event are presentin g products containing stevia, such as chocolate firm Cavalier.

Analysts form Euromonitor International saw a lag in stevia launches in 2012, but expect launches to gather pace this year.

Yodelling wafer

Kägi Söhne's Music Box

Swiss company Kägi Söhne AG took third place for its Music Box product. The launch is a wafer product that uses innovative packaging to play a yodelling tune when opened – a tune deemed “the perfect accompaniment while the fine confectionery is being consumed.”

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